Shekwan wrote:Could somebody have a quick look at my Biabacus sheet and make sure I'm not being an idiot?

Very good Shekwan.

I'll leave it up to someone else to make comments on the recipe design as I'm not familiar with Dark Milds. I can make some comments on the file though.

Firstly, unfortunately, your file has been compromised at some point as I can click on all the cells even the protected ones and some critical calculations are not working. Also, if you put this recipe into a file that wasn't comnpromised, I'm pretty sure the BIABacus would be throwing up more red warnings. So, unfortunately, you are going to have to get a new file and type things in again . (Never save the BIABacus as anything except an .xls file.)

When you re-type it...

As a general rule, it is safer to boil for 90 minutes (read this) but let's not worry about that too much on this.

If you only mash for 60 minutes, you will, on most grain bills, not get as much 'sugar' from the grain as if you leave it for 90 mins (this thread has a lot of evidence supporting this).

In Section X, you have set the kettle efficiency to 75%. The BIABacus is the only software that calculates your kettle efficiency for you. Whilst other programs make you estimate your kettle efficiency, in the BIABacus, you should pretty much, never enter anything there. The BIABacus estimate is going to be far more accurate than your guess. Kettle efficiency isn't something you can want, it is something you get based on several factors.

Similiarly, don't over-ride KFL.

You are asking too much from your kettle.

When you type in the recipe into an uncompromised file, I'm pretty sure that you are going to get lots of red warnings because you are asking too much from your kettle.

A few weeks back, I wrote How much beer can I get from my kettle? Every time you demand more from your kettle than it can easilly handle (pure BIAB, full-volume brewing), there is always a cost. That thread explains each cost. It will take a few slow reads of the thread to get things sitting comfortably for you but, when it does settle in, you'll have a really good understanding of the volume limits to brewing.

Once you've read the above and it makes sense, re-type your recipe into a fresh blank file from here and look at the BIABacus warnings. With your new understanding, make the appropriate adjustments until the red warnings disappear and then throw your new file back up here.

Will look forward to seeing how you go and, if something doesn't make sense in that link, just ask away here.


PP

The recipe looks pretty good but I would probably up the Munich and victory by 5% each and drop the crystal by 10%. Otherwise that is a lot of Crystal.

If you want more body it is better to get it from your mash temperature rather than the crystal. Looks
Like a good choice of yeast, it's really
Important for a mild to have some nice yeast esters.

It's a great style and doesn't need to be over complicated to be a delicious session beer. Start with a simple recipe and then have a play around to get the flavour you are after.

Will have to brew one of these myself soon! It's a staple for one of my taps over winter!